Role Involvement Questionnaire, and the Nor beck
Social Support Questionnaire (NSSQ) as instruments.
The results showed that there was a significant
difference between the groups in their adaptation to
maternal-student role stress with younger women
experiencing slightly more maternal–student role
stress than the older women.
Regarding the outcomes of adolescent
motherhood, motherhood changed female adolescents’
priorities, such as increasing educational goals,
professional goals, and an enhanced enjoyment of
life.24 A meta-synthesis of qualitative studies of
adolescent motherhood discovered five categories:
(1) the reality of motherhood brings difficulty, (2)
living in two worlds: the teenager and the mother,
(3) motherhood as positively transforming, (4) the
baby as a motivational factor to do better, and (5)
supportive context as turning point for the future.
25Becoming a parent made adolescent mothers feel
that they lived in the two worlds of adolescence and
motherhood. They reported that they felt alone and
desperate, and should have realized the importance of
the future prior to becoming pregnant.26 In addition,
Abram27 found that first-time mothers used motherhood
as an opportunity to reorganize their identity. It not
only affects maternal identity but also functions as a
transformer of the mother’s and future development.
In addition, a synthesis of the qualitative studies on
transition to motherhood indicated five categories
signifying areas of disruption in maternal transition;
(1) commitment to mothering, (2) using a variety of
resources to assist them in daily life, (3) changing
relationships with partner, (4) decision making
regarding return to work, and (5) facing oneself.28
To summarize, Thai mothers are expected to
be the primary caregiver of the child and to be a
housewife after giving birth. However, the current
socioeconomic climate pushes a new mother returning
to school to work in paid employment. Therefore,
many adolescent mothers perform multiple roles
during childrearing. The previous studies relating to